Nuclear Medicine Service, Italian Hospital, Montevideo, Uruguay.
National Institute of Cardiology "Ignacio Chavez", Juan Badiano 1, colonia Belisario Domínguez Secc 16, delegación Tlalpan, 14080, Mexico City, Mexico.
J Nucl Cardiol. 2023 Aug;30(4):1592-1601. doi: 10.1007/s12350-022-03005-5. Epub 2022 May 31.
Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is an under-diagnosed disease presenting as a restrictive cardiomyopathy with high morbidity and mortality. Wild-type transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) is mostly seen in elderly patients, with increasing prevalence as life expectancy is growing. New diagnostic imaging techniques and treatments allow for a better prognosis, but lack of clinical awareness delays timely diagnosis and appropriate management. Our purpose was to investigate the knowledge of clinicians regarding ATTR-CM and to assess the availability of imaging resources in the Latin-American region.
Two online surveys were distributed among clinicians and nuclear medicine professionals, respectively: one asking about awareness of CA in different clinical scenarios, and the other about the availability of diagnostic resources and studies performed. 406 responses were received for the first survey and 82 for the second, representing 17 and 14 countries, respectively. A significant lack of awareness was identified among clinicians, although appropriate diagnostic resources are generally available. Survey data showed that very few patients are evaluated for ATTR-CM in most Latin-American countries.
The surveys demonstrated the need for educational programs and other measures to increase clinical awareness and early detection of CA, so patients receive timely treatment and management of the disease.
心脏淀粉样变性（CA）是一种诊断不足的疾病，表现为限制性心肌病，发病率和死亡率均较高。野生型转甲状腺素蛋白淀粉样心肌病（ATTR-CM）多见于老年患者，随着预期寿命的延长，其患病率也在逐渐增加。新的诊断成像技术和治疗方法可改善预后，但由于临床意识不足，导致诊断和适当管理的延误。我们的目的是调查临床医生对ATTR-CM 的认识，并评估拉丁美洲地区的成像资源可用性。
我们分别向临床医生和核医学专业人员发放了两份在线调查问卷：一份调查不同临床情况下对 CA 的认识，另一份调查诊断资源的可用性和已开展的研究。第一个调查共收到 406 份回复，第二个调查共收到 82 份回复，分别代表 17 个和 14 个国家。尽管通常可获得适当的诊断资源，但临床医生的认识仍明显不足。调查数据显示，在大多数拉丁美洲国家，只有很少的患者接受ATTR-CM 的评估。
这些调查表明，需要开展教育计划和采取其他措施来提高临床认识和早期发现 CA，以便患者及时接受治疗和管理疾病。
